Sarah Palin on Education

Republican Governor (AK); ; nominee for Vice President

3-year plan: $1B for early learning, vo-tech, accountability

We promised public education reform--so schools can plan ahead, and bureaucracies do not smother a school's creativity or a student's aspiration. We now take the next step in our three-year education plan--to offer every young
Alaskan--rural and urban--the opportunity to learn and work and succeed in the world.

We'll fully forward-fund all our school districts with more than a billion dollars--that's more than
21% of General Fund expenditures. Education is that high a priority. We'll focus on early learning, vo-tech and workforce development, an enhanced
University, streamlined operations, we'll hold schools accountable, and we'll encourage opportunities for students with special needs.

We need more flexibility in No Child Left Behind

PALIN: You mentioned education and I’m glad you did. I say, too, with education, America needs to be putting a lot more focus on that and our schools have got to be really ramped up in terms of the funding that they are deserving.
Teachers needed to be paid more. I come from a house full of school teachers. We have got to increase the standards. No Child Left Behind was implemented. It’s not doing the job though. We need flexibility in No Child Left Behind.
We need to put more of an emphasis on the profession of teaching. My kids as public school participants right now, it’s near and dear to my heart.

BIDEN: I hope we’ll get back to education because I don’t know any government program that
John is supporting, not early education, more money for it. The reason No Child Left Behind was left behind is the money was left behind, we didn’t fund it.

Never tried to ban books in the Wasilla Library

Q: Did you try to ban books in the Wasilla Library?

A: No. But I got a kick out of that one also. No banned books. No desire to ban a book. That list of banned books, though, that we saw there that included “Harry
Potter,” which, of course, had not even been written or published before I was in there. To be accused of banning books, no.

Q: It’s false?

A: False.

Source: 2008 Fox News interview on “Hannity & Colmes”
Sep 17, 2008

Science teacher as dad; believes in teaching evolution

Q: Did you only want to teach creationism in school and not evolution?

A: No. In fact, growing up in a school teacher’s house with a science teacher as a dad, you know,
I have great respect for science being taught in our science classes and evolution to be taught in our science classes.

Source: 2008 Fox News interview on “Hannity & Colmes”
Sep 17, 2008

Teach creationism alongside evolution in schools

Earlier this year, she told the Anchorage Daily News that schools should not fear teaching creationism alongside evolution. “Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of information....
Healthy debate is so important and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as a daughter of a science teacher.”

Supports teaching intelligent design in public schools

Palin is a conservative Protestant and has also been a member since 2006 of Feminists for Life, an anti-abortion group. She has supported the teaching of intelligent design in public schools, alongside evolution.
She is a member of the National Rifle Association, and has said Alaska’s economic future depends on aggressively extracting its vast natural resources, from oil to natural gas and minerals.

294 Alaska public schools progressed under NCLB

Congratulations to the staff at the 294 Alaska public schools that made adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards for the 2007-2008 school year. Our schools faced a higher bar in 2007-2008 for the percentages of
students who score proficient in language arts and math assessments. Congratulations to the many schools that continue to improve in student achievement but may have fallen short in 1 or 2 of the 31 categories schools are held accountable for in NCLB.

Source: Alaska Governor’s Office: August 2008 Newsletter
Aug 20, 2008

School debate should focus on accountability

In education, we are shaping a three-year funding plan to finally shift the school debate from perpetual “money talk” to accountability and achievement!
We are focusing on foundational skills needed in the “real-world” workplace and in college.

Source: 2008 State of the State Address to 25th Alaska Legislature
Jan 15, 2008

Committed to providing strong education, including morals

It is our energy development that pays for essential services, like education. Victor Hugo said, “He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” It’s a privileged obligation we have to “open education doors.”
Every child, of every ability, is to be cherished and loved and taught. Every child provides this world hope. They are the most beautiful ingredient in our sometimes muddied up world. I am committed to our children and their education.
Stepping through “the door” is about more than passing a standardized test. We need kids prepared to pass life’s tests--like getting a job and valuing a strong work ethic. Our Three-year Education
Plan invests more than a billion dollars each year. We must forward-fund education, letting schools plan ahead. We must stop pink-slipping teachers, and then struggle to recruit and retain them the next year.

Budget funds education, but will to work is also critical

We’re asking lawmakers to pass a new K-12 funding plan this year. This is an investment that is needed to increase the base student allocation, district cost factors and intensive needs students. It includes $100 million in school construction and
deferred maintenance. There is awesome potential to improve education and embrace choice for parents. This potential will prime Alaska to compete in a global economy. Beyond high school, we will boost job training and University options.
We are proposing more than $10 million in new funding for apprenticeship programs, expansion of construction, engineering and health care degrees. But it must be about more than funds, it must be a change in philosophy.
It is time to shift focus, from just dollars to “caliyulriit,” which is Yupik for “people who want to work.” Work for pride in supporting our families. It’s about results and getting kids excited about their future--whether it is college, trade school or

Court ruling against NEA: state adequately funds education

Alaska has “fully met its constitutional obligation to adequately fund education,” an Anchorage Superior Court ruled today in the case of Moore vs. Alaska. The plaintiffs--which included NEA-Alaska and several school districts--sued the state, asking the
court to order significantly more state funding for Alaska schools--seeking to double Alaska’s education budget.

Instead, the Judge left decisions about the state’s education funding formula to the Legislature, and said the court would not determine
educational programs. The judge’s ruling said the evidence shows that Alaska has “thorough and appropriate” educational standards and a “finely tuned” method of testing children.

But the state must be more aggressive in overseeing troubled school
districts, the judge ruled, citing the Yupiit School District, one of the plaintiffs, in particular. In those schools, the court also found that students haven’t had sufficient opportunity to prepare for the high school exit exam.

Fully fund K-12 and support early funding of education

My budget includes fully funding the “K through 12” foundation formula. In addition, I’ve included more than $200 million in new dollars to cover the increased retirement costs for local school districts, so that more local school district dollars get
into the classroom, where the money belongs. We’re facing a potential $10 billion PERS/TRS retirement plan shortfall that affects local schools. Our $200 million dollar line item for school districts is part of the half BILLION dollar proposal to help th
districts, local governments and the state alleviate the pension plan burden while we work with the Legislature on a long-term solution. I’ve also committed to help provide local school districts with more predictability, for better planning by
supporting “early funding of education.” I’ll introduce a separate education appropriation bill and ask that it’s passed. Our local school districts deserve to know what they have to work with early enough for them to create efficiencies through planning

Supports $20 million needs-based aid for U. Alaska

We have no needs-based aid for Alaska students. Governor Murkowski tried to put $20 million in the budget for aid, but the Legislature rejected it. Let’s make our own University available to students who might otherwise go without higher education.

Forward-fund K-12 schools to allow better planning

I support adequate and full funding for education, as well as for pupil transportation and municipal school debt reimbursements. There must be recognition for increases in costs for energy, utilities, insurance, and salaries. We cannot go back to the day
of simply ignoring inflation. A centerpiece of my fiscal plan is to forward fund K-12. School districts will be able to do a better job of planning their budgets for upcoming years if they know in advance the level of funding they can expect from Juneau.

Supports charter schools, home schools, & other alternatives

My administration will support existing programs that already offer alternative school options available throughout the state, including charter schools, rural boarding schools, home school options, correspondence schools, and vocational/technical,
and magnet schools. There are many successes out there that we can look to as models. My administration will support and expand existing programs that successfully offer new approaches to ensure an appropriate education for every child in Alaska.

Target early education programs to at-risk groups

The State should target early education programs to specific at-risk groups that truly need them. These groups will benefit from access to high-quality programs currently out of their reach. We must find a way for these children to obtain a safe and
positive environment in their early years. Today, social & economic pressures sometimes encourage both parents to return to work outside the home. My administration will publish useful educational material for parents about children in their early years.

Alignment between parents, teachers, schools, & business

Alignment is the unity of purpose which brings parents, children, teachers, public administration and businesses together towards a common goal of quality education. Alignment towards the common goal is built upon the values of respect for one another,
our unique cultures and traditions, and our individual personal values. Here is how Alignment fits together:

Parents understand the importance of their involvement with and their responsibility for their child’s education.

Children attend class ready to learn.

Teachers are allowed to teach without distraction.

Administrations sustain an environment where performance and options are valued.

Business will help define the outcomes needed for employment.

Parents are the first educators.

Teachers are responsible for providing a rich classroom environment.

Administration is responsible to their community for costs, safety, and choice.

Faith-based materials ok in homeschooling

Ideally, the purpose of administration is to ensure that our schools offer such choices to parents, students and teachers. Choice in public education is a relatively new idea, but is already widely implemented.
We see from our experience that innovation such as charter schools, homeschools, correspondence, Montessorri, and various other alternative schools have a broad appeal to parents, students, teachers and administrators.
There is still room to grow our choices to serve more families.

I support and respect the rights of independent homeschoolers and those who partner with local and state-wide school districts.
There must be equity in treatment of all homeschoolers in all programs across the state. The use of privately-purchased, faith-based materials should not be a reason for withholding funding.

ABC method: back to basics, plus patriotism & ethics

I believe we need to respect families and provide greater access to curricula and programs that teach ethics and character. The ABC method is a local program that depends strongly on these principles. ABC students have nightly homework, back to basics
curriculum, patriotism, ethics and citizenship training. Programs such as ABC have core principles of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship.

Don’t push school boards on creationism but allow discussion

The volatile issue of teaching creation science in public schools popped up in the Alaska governor’s race this week when Republican Sarah Palin said she thinks creationism should be taught alongside evolution in the state’s public classrooms. Palin was
answering a question from the moderator when she said, “Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both.”

In an interview, Palin said she meant
only to say that discussion of alternative views should be allowed to arise in Alaska classrooms: “I don’t think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class. It doesn’t have to be part of the curriculum.” She added that, if
elected, she would not push the state Board of Education to add such creation-based alternatives to the state’s required curriculum. “I won’t have religion as a litmus test, or anybody’s personal opinion on evolution or creationism,” Palin said.

I believe we have a creator; and many theories of evolution

Palin said she thought there was value in discussing alternatives. “It’s OK to let kids know that there are theories out there,” she said in an interview following the debate. “They gain information just by being in a discussion.”

That was how she was
brought up, she said. Her father was a public school science teacher. “My dad did talk a lot about his theories of evolution,” she said. “He would show us fossils and say, ‘How old do you think these are?’ ”

Asked for her personal views on evolution,
Palin said, “I believe we have a creator.” She would not say whether her belief also allowed her to accept the theory of evolution as fact. “I’m not going to pretend I know how all this came to be,” she said.

Knowles was asked Thursday if he believed
in a creator and, if so, how he reconciled that with evolution. A campaign spokeswoman responded, “Tony wants to stick by what he said last night -- creationism has no place in public school classrooms as an ‘alternative’ to evolution.”

Support charters & home schools; not private school vouchers

Q: Would you support amending the state constitution to allow private school vouchers?

A: My priorities are to support options for education as allowable within the current funding formula--including home schools, charter schools and vocational training. This doesn’t require amending the constitution.